Jan-Erik Nyrövaara – From Ideas to Actions

Posted on: August 9, 2015

We kicked off DOKU:TECH 2015 in a big way yesterday. In the shadow of the minaret of the Gazi Mehmet Pasha Mosque speakers brought the future closer to Kosovo – from digital currency to privacy to nano robots to trips to the moon.

After introducing the speakers to DOKUNIGHTS, a few films and a hike to the Fortress we all beat the heat and rested up for Day Two. The first speaker to kick us off is Jan-Erik (aka Oppo) Nyrövaara. Jan is a Partner in Helsinki Ventures and this is not his first trip to Kosovo. Earlier this year he brought Startup Sauna to Prishtina. Eight start up companies in the region pitched their products to secure investment and mentoring.

At DOKU:TECH 2015 Jan kicked off his session with Al Pacino’s inspirational speech from “Any Given Sunday” – on this team we fight for that inch, on this team we tear ourselves and everyone around us for that inch. If yesterday was about ideas today is about execution of ideas and people. To Opo this clip has it all – they started to execute their game, they were committed, they knew what to do, they had a leader who was taking them against any opponent. This is what starting a company is all about.

For Oppo people are more important than the business idea. No matter the business idea if they cannot execute they are going to fail.

Because people are at the core of any endeavor – company, team – there has to be a constant attention to commitment.Commitment of the leader, commitment of the team. From his experience with his companies anything that can be done to renew commitment is worth the time and effort to do. It is leadership to stand in front of your team and be the example of excellence. Your team forgets about the daily complaints they have and focus on the more important tasks in front of them.